Wheaty Hoopla

Nitro Night

For many years now beers such as Guinness and Caffreys have been dispensed with Nitrogen (typically a 30% CO2: 70% Nitrogen mix) in an attempt to emulate the smooth, creamy Handpumped pint - and it's worked pretty well; albeit at a much cooler temperature than a Handpump would traditionally pull. Of late a growing number of US Craft Brewers have embraced the nitrogen pour, with some even nitrogenating their beers in keg to enable Bars without specialised equipment to pour a surge and settle, soft and creamy Pint (see CraftBeer.com for an excellent article on Nitro beers in the US).

And so with a keg or two of Rogue Shakespeare Stout in our cellar, a real Handpump at our disposal and Max Dog Brewing by our side, we figured it was time for a comparative tasting; Nitro Vs Handpump Vs Mixed Gas.

We'll be pouring:

Rogue Nitro Shakespeare Stout

Rogue Shakespeare Stout (regular '40' Mixed Gas)

Rogue Shakespeare Stout (Handpump)

Max Dog Brewing will be there on the night to talk all things Nitro, and with 'Paper Moon' cranking our favourite '30s and 40's tunes in the Front Bar, what better way to ponder the ultimate question:does your beer taste better on Nitro?